4,000 bodies still under rubble in Mosul’s Old City: MP

FILE PHOTO: A man sits on the rubble of a house of his relatives, destroyed by a Saudi-led air strike in Sanaa, Yemen June 9, 2017. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Thousands of victims’ bodies are still under the rubble in Mosul, an MP of Nineveh said on Thursday, urging the government to help the refugees return back to their homes.

In televised remarks, MP Farah al-Siraj said, “4,000 bodies are still under the debris in the Old City of Mosul.”

“So far, the government did not remove the debris from the city, which was highly destroyed,” Siraj added.

“The city is in disastrous situation, especially the Old City, whose population reaches around 700,000,” she said.

According to the MP, “only 20 percent of the displaced returned back homes.” She attributed the delay in the return on the shortage of capabilities for them to return.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi declared in July victory over IS militants who had held the second largest Iraqi city since 2014. More than 25,000 Islamic State militants were killed throughout the campaign. Earlier this month, Abadi announced full liberation of Iraqi lands, declaring end of war against IS members.

Iraqi forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition and paramilitary troops, have been fighting since October 2016 to retake territories Islamic State had occupied.

The war against IS has displaced nearly five million people, with tens of thousands of civilians and militants killed since the launch of the offensives to recapture occupied cities.